Battle of Transylvania
The Battle of Transylvania was the last conflict of the Second Cold War. It took place in January 2042, after the Gladiator lured Lindsay Kellerman and the other S.M.S.B. members to Transylvania Quarters in an effort to obtain the Orb of Power. Once at the manor, the seven S.M.S.B. members were cornered by a dozen Knights of Plague, whom they managed to fend off, despite losing Red X along the way. In the skirmish, the Orb of Power was destroyed, as was Andromeda and all the Knights of Plague except three. The remaining three were captured along with the Gladiator, one of whom was Monroe. The battle resulted in the ultimate destruction of the Knights of Plague. Prelude In January of 2042, after rounding up his army, the Gladiator decided it was time to obtain the Orb of Power, which would make him indestructible. Knowing the State Senator trusted the S.M.S.B. with it, the Gladiator resorted to using a different sword, due to the generators of their blades being the only ones created from space rocks. Because the government feared the Knights of Plague and because he now had many servants to do his bidding, the Gladiator did not attempt to retrieve the orb he sought himself. As he considered such a thing to be beneath him and being seen by the community was not an option. The Knights of Plague made a few attempts at stealing the orb in question. All the attempts ended in failure and the orb remained inaccessible. Sebastian Lestange possessed Fredrick Powell, a government bodyguard, to force him to steal the orb. However, the protection placed on items in the Hall of Domination only allows those who are attuned to the orb to access them; the Gladiator punished Eve for assuring the Dark Lord that the plan would have worked. Fredrick was afflicted with mind control and admitted to NYC Hospital. When word of Fredrick’s improvement reached the Knights of Plague, they sent a potted cutting of animate vines to Fredrick, to prevent the plot from being revealed, and it strangled him in his hospital bed. Earlier, Russell Stewart had also been possessed to attempt the same, but was arrested trying to enter Transylvania Quarters. The Gladiator also sent his rebirthed snake, Nagatha, to scout government defenses of the orb. The Gladiator had sent Nagatha to retrieve the orb. This resulted in the injury of Percy who was guarding the orb. Thus, the Gladiator tried a different tactic using Lindsay Kellerman. The Gladiator planted a vision in Lindsay’s mind that suggested that the Gladiator was building a bomb that he would soon use to destroy New York in the Hall of Domination at Transylvania Quarters. The Gladiator predicted that the S.M.S.B. would race to the fortress to stop him. As the Gladiator predicted, Lindsay told Master Intelligence about it, who rallied the other members of the S.M.S.B.. For the mission, Master Intelligence revealed the old Pinewood Derby, now made much larger. The group rode it to Transylvania Quarters to stop him. Meanwhile, Becca Smith and George returned to Transylvania Quarters to communicate with the Gladiator via hologram. George proposed using the base’s superweapon to destroy the old police station, which would give the police nowhere to go once their station’s shields were breached. The Gladiator authorized his proposal. He then spoke with Becca privately, asking if she had felt an awakening in the light side. He ordered Becca to kill her daughter to overcome her temptation by the light. The battle Locating the Orb The S.M.S.B. flew to Transylvania Quarters, where they descended to Level 11 and down the corridor to the Chamber of Mystery. They found themselves in the Entrance, with twelve identical black, handle-less doors. When each door behind them closed, the walls spun, and the doors returned to different places. They went through one, which turned out to be the Space Chamber and went back to the Entrance Room and try another, which turned out to be the Death Chamber. The next door they tried would not open by any means, but the next room, the Time Chamber, contained the glittering lights from Lindsay Kellerman’s dreams. Once in this room, they took another door to the Hall of Domination. In the row where the Gladiator was supposed to be waiting, they spotted the Orb of Power with Master Intelligence’s name inscribed on it. Against Master Intelligence’s advice not to touch it, Telekinibabe picked it up. This prompted twelve Knights of Plague — Rudolph Lestange, Sebastian Lestange, Nolan Giles, Eve, Wallace Blanks, Caberra, John Webb, Augustus Salt, George, Monroe, second-in-command Becca Smith, and the Gladiator himself as leader — to emerge from the shadows and demand that Master Intelligence give them the orb, upon seeing Telekinibabe hand it to him. Battle in the Departments Master Intelligence attempted to buy time by mocking the Gladiator and infuriating Becca Smith, yet the Gladiator stopped her from killing Intelligence, not through defense, but so that he can protect the orb. In their argument, Becca and the Gladiator broke two energy crystals. Master Intelligence still refused to hand over the orb, so the Gladiator began to tease him that the orb can tell him anything. That the orb can grant him physical strength beyond his dreams, but only if given to him from another. Just then, on Master Intelligence’s signal, the S.M.S.B. members all attacked the Knights of Plague briefly before sprinting away. As they ran, John grabbed Intelligence’s arm, but was stunned by Andromeda. Andromeda broke off to join Sebiscuits, where she took out a Knight with a stun beam. Sebiscuits took out one subsequently, and Andromeda congratulated him. Lindsay took out Eve, who was subsequently injured when Lindsay deflected her attack with her sword. The six members were then separated. Several Knights of Plague Apparated to Andromeda’s position, causing her to panic. Whilst running, Lindsay and Andromeda both fired at the Knights, who deflected their attacks. Master Intelligence, Lindsay, and Andromeda fled to the edge of the shelf, only to be intercepted by two fighters. Sebiscuits, however, joined them and blasted them away. He was accompanied by Andromeda, and was immediately joined by Telekinibabe. Seeing everyone was in place, Master Intelligence telekinetically smashed the shelves, distracting the Knights of Plague so they could flee. Monroe attempted to pursue, but he was then injured by the collapsing shelves. When Rudolph Lestange and Caberra pursued them by flying above the shelves, Master Intelligence ordered everyone into the adjoining Time Chamber pursued by the other Knights of Plague and sealed the door behind them, but then he, Lindsay, and Andromeda realized they have been separated from the others. In the Death Chamber, Master Intelligence realized Lindsay had the orb, just as the Knights of Plague forced their way in. A moment later, the three S.M.S.B. members met up with Force Baby, Telekinibabe, Baby Strength, and Sebiscuits. Sebiscuits had been hit by a stun beam and Force Baby’s ankle was broken. Although the Gladiator cut them off from the Death Chamber, they had managed to get away from their pursuers because Sebiscuits had blasted apart the model of the planet Pluto in the Space Chamber to injure their pursuers. Seeing Becca Smith nearby, Andromeda pursued Becca and attempted to talk. However, Baby Strength called to Andromeda and told her to regroup with the others. While the members regrouped, the Knights of Plague swooped down and attacked, capturing everyone except Lindsay and rounding them up before tying them. In their attempts to escape, Baby Strength was blasted with stun beams and Andromeda took a stunner to the face. As the others struggled, the Gladiator stepped up to Lindsay and told her she had two choices: to hand over the orb, or watch the others die. Death of Red X Finally, and after seeing the others in their bonds monitored by the Knights of Plague, Lindsay handed the orb to the Gladiator, who pocketed it triumphantly. The Gladiator then proceeded to reveal the electric bomb the members were after. With it bore the capacity to destroy the entire continent once it was released. Horrified, Baby Strength used his Super strength to free himself and proceed to steal his captor’s keys. Seeing this, Red X asked Baby Strength to free her. Baby Strength nodded and did this. Seeing this, the Gladiator immediately launched the bomb, but Red X sacrificed herself, leaping in front of the bomb, causing it to hit her instead. The bomb never got past her torso, negating the range it needed to cause the destruction. However, it did give Red X a slow, painful death. Lindsay ran over, and with her last breath Cynthia told Lindsay the reason for her sacrifice. The Gladiator did not have any more bombs to launch. Meanwhile, Baby Strength freed the others. Master Intelligence, Lindsay Kellerman, Sebiscuits, Telekinibabe, Andromeda, and Force Baby reclaimed their weapons, and the battle resumed. The Death Chamber standoff Once again, Andromeda and Sebiscuits tried to escape, but were stopped by Becca Smith and George. The four immediately began to duel with swords, Sebiscuits fighting Becca and Andromeda fighting George. At the same time, the Gladiator slipped and fell, and the orb fell out of her hand and broke. Meanwhile, Baby Strength made for Eve, who Disapparated away and landed nearby. Most of the members attempted to escape, though a few stayed to fight. However, Master Intelligence insisted they couldn’t leave without Andromeda and Sebiscuits. Just then, reinforcements came in the form of the Advance Guard and the Order of the Mystic Specters, which moved to attack the Knights of Plague. They charged at the Knights, with Tori Newell leading the Mystic Specters, flying ahead to strike at the enemy from above, causing Baby Strength to quip to Lindsay Kellerman that it was emblematic because Newell was sent from above. Kellerman was about to respond when the Gladiator, striking down an Advance Guard member in his way, moved in to attack the members, but Master Intelligence leaped upward, knocking him away and attacking the villain, reclaiming his sword for the task. This forced the Gladiator to pull out his mace and swing it at the superhero. As Master Intelligence deflected the Gladiator’s blows with a Shield, the antagonist Teleported away and hid himself on top of a lighting fixture. Unbeknownst to Intelligence, the Gladiator fired a beam of electricity at the mutant, which exploded nearby, causing Intelligence to lose his sword. The Gladiator then seized a nearby heavy turbolaser and fired on Intelligence. The shots hit nearby, and Master Intelligence was thrown backwards across the platform. The Gladiator reemerged from the fixture and flew towards Intelligence, who jumped and kicked the Gladiator, knocking the villain to the ground, and causing him to lose his mace. As if out of nowhere, Tori Newell confronted the Gladiator and blamed him for the resignation of the Commander in Chief. Baffled, the Gladiator retorted that he had no idea what she was talking about. Newell responded by calling him a liar as she absorbed his electrical attacks, defending Master Intelligence and quickly overwhelming the Gladiator by hurling powerful blasts of energy. After crushing his mace, the Gladiator retaliated and nearly incapacitated both her and Master Intelligence with a powerful shockwave. However, she drew her phial at the last second and pinned down the Gladiator with a tendril of blue energy, slowly tearing him apart. To save himself from her wrath, he was forced to call in an air strike. Tori Newell then tried to shield herself, only to be knocked back by the blasts, sustaining only concussive force. However, Baby Strength charged forward and ripped a Knight's head cleanly off, before Lindsay Kellerman intervened by making the corpse disappear. She then Teleported over to Andromeda, only to notice her making her way to Becca Smith, her mother, in order to confront her over the abyss, pleading with her mother to reject the Gladiator and return to the Light. Becca held out her hand to Andromeda, but then she twisted the angle of her hand and cast a Death beam, filling her daughter's chest with red light. As Force Baby, Lindsay Kellerman, and Baby Strength looked on, Andromeda side-hugged Becca one last time before falling down a shaft. Furious, Force Baby injured Becca with his gun and proceeded to shoot down several unsuspecting Knights. Augustus Salt proved harder, however, kicking Lindsay aside, deflecting Telekinibabe’s sword, and firing beams at Force Baby, forcing him to dodge. However, a stray blast from the embattled George and Sebiscuits defeated him for good. Meanwhile, Cardarphen telekinetically disarmed Becca, prompting her to run. Andromeda turned and used a spell to disarm George before hurling him off the platform and into the abyss. Kellerman rushed to aid Master Intelligence, finding him and the Gladiator still locked in hand-to-hand combat, neither able to gain an advantage. With a quick kick at the warlord’s head, the Gladiator was forced to release Master Intelligence. Upon regaining his feet, the Gladiator stood up and head-butted Intelligence, causing the mutant to fall back onto the platform. Kellerman seized Master Intelligence's sword and threw it towards him. Catching it, he whirled around and swung it at the Gladiator as hard as possible. However, it only provided concussive force, slamming the warlord across the platform and against a lighting fixture, causing the Gladiator to crash onto the platform. Standing up, the warlord fired a Death beam at Master Intelligence, who was running towards the Gladiator. Master Intelligence kicked the Gladiator off the platform, but he mistimed his kick and the Gladiator was flipped onto the side of the platform and slid down towards Master Intelligence, who was struggling to keep his balance and fall into the abyss. Desperate to save his life, Master Intelligence activated a series of grappling tools on his arm and dug them into the platform to slow down his fall. The Gladiator, however, slid past Intelligence and off over the edge of the platform, where he dangled, holding onto an indentation. As Master Intelligence’s grip was failing due to the added weight, he telekinetically threw the Gladiator backward, causing the warlord to free-fall down towards the abyss. The Gladiator managed to regain his balance and fly to a structure below the platform. After making sure that the warlord was nowhere to be seen, Master Intelligence used his cord to crawl back to the top of the platform, but then slipped and fell off of it, desperately clinging to a pole attached to the wall. Meanwhile, the Gladiator flipped onto a ramp up to the platform, chasing Master Intelligence onto a balcony overlooking the abyss, firing Death beams at Intelligence recklessly. When Intelligence attempted to climb back up, the Gladiator used his cape to knock Intelligence off the balcony, but he managed to hold on and ended up pulling the Gladiator along with him, but was unwilling to let him fall. The Gladiator dangled momentarily for his life, but he was soon able to climb onto a pole. As he raised himself in perfect position to kill Lindsay Kellerman (who is attempting to save Master Intelligence), laughing wickedly, the pole started to break off and he fell, clinging on for dear life and dropping his sword. Lindsay immediately pulled Intelligence on top and Intelligence telekinetically brought the Gladiator back over to the balcony before channeling the balcony's railing and translating the metal to a muzzle to cover his mouth. Kellerman clocked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The fighting ends As Master Intelligence captured the unconscious Gladiator with cords, the three surviving Knights of Plague attacked. Kellerman engaged Eve Higgins while Baby Strength took on Monroe nearby. At this moment, Master Intelligence returned and most of the fighting stopped and the Knights of Plague that saw him arrive attempted to flee in fear of dueling him, having seen the defeat of their master. Newell landed next to Master Intelligence and ordered the Knights to lay down their arms. Master Intelligence quickly rounded up numerous Knights of Plague, announcing their capture, but Becca and Sebiscuits were still fighting, with Smith wielding Monroe's sword. Finally, he disarmed Smith once again, but she teleported and reappeared before the S.M.S.B., which had just finished assembling. They opened fire on her, but they initially had no effect. Smith only died after Cardarphen cut off her head, doubly avenging her daughter. Conclusion With the fighting over, Master Intelligence called for the uninjured to step up, receiving only Telekinibabe. They briefly pondered how to dispose of the bodies, until Telekinibabe suggested using the Dish of Smoke to transport both the dead and living. Master Intelligence considered this, while Tori Newell warned him against trusting a strange artifact, but Telekinibabe telekinetically moved everyone into the Dish. Shrinking on impact, they all materialized into the Tavern of Tombs, located near Transylvania Quarters. Here, they located the dead in graves and the injured lying together in a corner of the tavern. Master Intelligence quietly summoned ART-100, before realizing that Andromeda was dead. On his request, ART-100 and his owner, Ramona Meyer, materialized everyone into the Pinewood Derby, while Newell and the Mystic Specters made their leave and Savannah van Dukas called for someone to pick up the Advance Guard members in a van and two ambulances. At the MBH, Telekinibabe helped everyone into the medical bay while ART-100 sent a message to the U.S. Government, initiating an imminent trial for the captured Gladiator at the Mutamon. Aftermath Everybody regretted Red X’s death bitterly, but as a result of it everybody else survived. Andromeda's death was also mourned, and Patrick Smith, her father, was left wondering what to do with his life. After going to Myra Gordon's apartment, feeling terrible about the demise of the two mutants, Master Intelligence met and befriended Thomas Meyer. The two men shared a lot in common: they were intellectuals and class-toppingly talented young mutants who were idealistic and ambitious. (Master Intelligence, who felt trapped by the death of his friends and familial obligation, gained a glamorous connection to the excitement of faraway places and things in Thomas. Thomas, an ego case, gained a powerful ally, who didn’t threaten his sense of control.) Thomas joined the S.M.S.B. and took the name of Centauri. It is clear that the pair were very close and the platonic affection was genuine on both sides. They shaped one another’s ideas, powers, as well as destinies from that day forth. They also shared two preoccupations. The Sword of Abomination held their fascination for many shared reasons, but their most fundamental reasons they didn’t quite have in common. They also dreamed of protecting the Fobbles and beginning centuries of world peace. After returning to the MBH, Master Intelligence buried both Red X and Andromeda in Lioness graveyard, next to Paige Nelson. After the duel, the Gladiator was captured and detained in the top cell of a prison he himself had built to hold his enemies, after he was brought to trial for his crimes. George and an unknown two others were imprisoned with him, and Transylvania Quarters was ultimately given back to the Swenson family. Significance *Death of Red X *Death of Andromeda *Capture of the Gladiator *End of the Knights of Plague Appearances * * Transylvania Quarters Category:2042 events Category:Battle of Transylvania Category:Battles of the Second Cold War Category:Battles of Transylvania Quarters Category:Transylvania Quarters